


Unconditional

by Floral_Murdock



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Feels, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson - Freeform, Gen, Inaccurate Depictions of Parkour, Karen Page - Freeform, Kittens, Matt adopts an orphaned kitten and has Feelings About It, Post Season 2, Thouroughly Researched Depictions of Kitten Care, claire temple - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8527102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floral_Murdock/pseuds/Floral_Murdock
Summary: Post S2, Matt finds an orphaned kitten and takes it home. Feelings  ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

Matt ducked into the alley, ready to climb up onto the nearby rooftop. He took careful note of his surroundings, but to his knowledge, there was nothing in the alley except for a dumpster. He could use that for leverage when he was ready to parkour onto the rooftop. There were no other heartbeats nearby besides that of a tiny kitten's hiding under the dumpster, making soft "mew" noises. Hopefully, its mother would be back for it soon. 

He forgot all about the kitten as he leapt up onto the dumpster, launching himself up onto the rooftop. It was time to let the Devil out. 

***  
Matt passed back through the alley as dawn began to creep up on the city. It had been a good night. He'd managed to get crucial information on a corporation that had business dealings with The Hand. As a bonus, he got out without so much as a bruise.

Just as he was about to climb up onto the dumpster, he froze. The tiny kitten-heartbeat was still the only one in the alley, but this time it was accompanied by a much louder mewing noise. 

Matt went over to investigate, crouching down low next to the kitten. It scampered away under the dumpster, tiny heart rate skyrocketing.

There was a faint smell of another cat --- probably the mother --- but it was old. Matt got down as low as he could, pulled off one glove, and allowed the kitten to sniff him. He ran his hand along it, feeling how thin it was. The kitten came out to him slowly. Then, he heard the sirens. 

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Matt. This may have been the most ridiculous position anyone could have found Daredevil in --- ignoring police sirens in the interest of rescuing a kitten. But he couldn't just leave it there. 

"Come on," he muttered, scooping up the cat in one hand. The other one he used to get himself up onto the rooftop, clutching the kitten to his chest. 

***  
Matt pulled himself in through the window, still holding the kitten tightly. He set it down gently on the floor next to the couch. That was when he realized that he didn't really know anything about cats. 

He had no idea how old the kitten was, aside from "small". What was he supposed to feed the kitten? Did it still drink milk? Could it use a litterbox? He had no idea. 

He went to go shower and put on real clothes. Then, he took out his laptop and searched "young abandoned kitten what to do". The first two things he pulled up made it very clear: hypothermia was a major concern for small kittens. He reached down to where the kitten was laying, letting it sniff his fingers again before touching the inside of its ear. It was definitely cold to the touch. He went to go get a clean towel, and wrapped it up gently in his lap. 

The kitten seemed to like being touched. After a few minutes, it began pushing gently against his fingers as they ran across the Braille reader. He switched to reading with one hand, petting the cat absently with the other. 

It didn't take Matt long to realize that he was completely out of his depth. He still couldn't even tell how old the kitten was, as all the websites he could find seemed to rely mainly on picture diagrams to demonstrate what kittens looked like at each developmental stage. 

The alarm in his bedroom went off. "Seven. Seven. Seven. Seven."  
He placed the kitten and the laptop down on the couch, and went in to go turn his alarm off. Seven. When did vet's offices open? Probably not yet, but soon. He pulled up the page for a local vet's office, and looked at their hours. They opened at nine. Another one opened at 10:30 on Sundays. Finally, he found one that opened at 7:30. He waited a half an hour, then called. 

"Hello, Midtown Veterinary Clinic. How may I help you?" The receptionist was remarkably perky-sounding for 7:30 in the morning. 

"Hello. I found a stray kitten a few hours ago, and I was thinking I should probably bring it in". 

"A young kitten?" 

"Yeah, I think so. It's pretty small, less than two pounds". 

"Oh, alright then. You definitely made a good call in bringing it in. Do you want to come around 10:30?" 

"Yes, that's fine". 

"Ok, I'll just need your name---"

Matt gave the receptionist his name and some other information. 

"I have a question." Matt began. "How should I get the cat there?" 

"Put it in a cat carrier lined with towels. If you don't have one, then you can find one at the nearest pet store. I don't think there's any particular kind you should need, as long as it's hard plastic it should work". 

Matt thanked the receptionist and hung up. He grabbed his glasses and cane, and made his way out to the pet store.

***  
He walked as quickly as he could, anxious about leaving the kitten home alone. It took him less than 10 minutes to walk to the nearest pet store, identified by the smell of fish water and bird. 

"Hello?" He went inside, nearly overwhelmed by the smell. It wasn't that the animals were poorly taken care of, as that there was a lot of them, and they all had a different scent. 

"Hi, how can I help you?" There was a man behind the counter --- around college age, judging by the sound of his voice and the smell of his cologne. He had long hair. Matt could hear it brushing his shoulders. He tried not to think about who that reminded him of. 

He ended up getting the carrier, plus some toys that were supposedly kitten-appropriate. He figured that even if the cat couldn't use them yet, it would be able to eventually. He thanked the man at the counter, and went home to try to get the cat into the carrier. 

***  
A couple hours later, Matt sat in the reception area at the vet's office. The cat carrier was in his lap. The kitten cried at him, but he refused to feel guilty. It'd been a struggle to get the cat into the carrier. The cat might be small, but its teeth were like little needles.

"Mr. Murdock?" The cheery receptionist from earlier called him up. He felt her stiffen for a minute as he stood up, obviously taking in the glasses and cane for the first time. After a couple seconds, she relaxed. 

"Do you need me to lead you back?" 

She ended up taking the cat carrier, and Matt put his hand on her arm. It was mildly awkward. Matt was pretty much used to it, though. 

"Ok, here we are. The chair is two steps over to your left. You can take the cat out of the carrier now." She'd literally walked Matt into the exam room. He wondered vaguely how she thought he'd walked to the office and gotten in the door. 

Matt took the cat out of the box, holding it carefully. It was shaking a little. Poor thing. He petted it gently, trying to get it to calm down. 

A few minutes later, a woman entered the room. She was short and stocky, about 5'0". She smelled like floral-scented soap, disinfectant, and pet dander. "Hello Mr. Murdock, I'm Doctor Holloway," she said, stepping into the room. "So this is the kitten?" 

"Yes." Matt unwrapped it from the towel, and the doctor took it over to the exam table. 

"So, where did you find him?" The doctor asked after a minute. So, Matt thought, it was a him. 

"In the alley next to my building, next to a dumpster. I could hear him crying, and I got him to come over to me". 

"Ok", the vet said, continuing to examine the cat. "He's a little bit skinny, but otherwise he looks alright. I'm just going to give him his first round of vaccines, and some flea medicine". 

The cat started crying again when Dr. Holloway administered the shots. His fast little heartbeat sped up --- nervous. Matt got up automatically to go calm him down, and the doctor waved him back into his seat. "He's fine," she said, "it's normal for cats to be nervous when they get shots". 

Once the shots were finally over with, the doctor had Matt come over to the table. She told him how to feed the cat from a bottle, teach him about the litterbox, and introduce him to wet food. 

"I have to do what?" Matt said blankly. 

"You have to put it in the crook of your arm, and let him lick at it. If he doesn't eat it at first, you should try mixing the food with kitten formula”. 

 

Matt winced internally at the thought of smearing processed meat paste on his skin and then letting the cat eat it off. But he knew he'd do it. "Ok. Is there anything else I need to know?" 

"Make sure you give him lots of attention. He'll still be missing his mom, so you'll have to kind of act as one for him for a while. Make sure you pet him and play with him every day, and try to introduce him to new people." Well, that last one would be difficult for Matt, seeing as how he didn't have many people over these days. But the rest, he could do. 

He thanked the vet, got the kitten back into his carrier, and went to go make a follow up appointment with the receptionist.

 

***  
A couple days later, Matt was sitting on the couch, petting the kitten as he re-read some case files, when there was a knock on the door. He put the case files and the cat aside, and went to go open the door. 

"Hey, Claire", he greeted her. 

"Hi. How are you?" she greeted, stepping into the entranceway. 

"Good. Um, can you be really quiet and still when you come in, please?"

"Sure, but why. . ." Claire had caught sight of the kitten, who had jumped down from then couch and was now rubbing against Matt's legs. "Oh my God." 

"Yeah, I got a cat." 

"When? How?" Claire said, incredulous. 

"I found him outside alone at the beginning of the night, and when i came back a few hours later, he was still there, and there was no sign of his mother." 

"Wait, Claire laughed, "you found him while you were in costume?" 

"It's not a costume," Matt grumbled under his breath. 

"Daredevil smuggled a kitten across the rooftops." She was almost in tears, she was laughing so hard. 

"Yeah." 

"Does---" Claire gasped, trying to regain her composure, "Does he have a name?" 

"Yes. His name's Thurgood." Matt was aware that it was slightly dorky. Or, well, extremely dorky. But he never claimed to be good at naming things. 

He was pretty sure that Claire understood the reference, but she didn't comment. "He's cute. Do you know what he looks like?" 

"Kind of, but not exactly". 

"Well, you know he's tiny, obviously. And he has a tiny little face with big ears. He's gray, with darker stripes, and he has blue eyes." 

"Apparently, all kittens have blue eyes until they reach a certain age," Matt said as he made his way to the couch. 

He and Claire talked about the cat, work, and other neutral topics. He knew that she was mostly there to make sure that he was ok, that he wasn't on the verge of falling apart again. But he appreciated the company either way. 

Abruptly, Matt realized what time it was. "I need to feed Thurgood,” he said, transferring the cat off of his shoulder. 

"Can I pet him?" Claire asked, shifting closer to the kitten. 

"Yeah. Just be still and quiet and he'll probably come over to you.” Matt went into the kitchen, and began making the kitten's bottle. 

A few minutes later, Matt came back onto the couch. Thurgood came over to sit on the blanket in Matt's lap, and Matt tested the temperature of the milk on his wrist. He held the bottle up to the kitten's mouth, and it began to drink. 

"That's adorable,” Claire commented. "How long does he have to be bottle fed?" 

"Another couple weeks, the vet said. He's pretty young." Matt adjusted his hold on the cat.

"Aw." Claire looked at her phone, and got up quickly. "I have to go." 

"Bye, see you later,” Matt said, still absorbed in feeding the cat. 

"Bye. Take care of yourself, Matt." With that, Claire left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt bonds further with his kitten, and runs into someone he used to know.

A few nights later, Daredevil stood on a rooftop, listening. He hadn't done more than prevent a mugging that night. The Hand were lying low. There wasn't enough to do; it made him feel on edge. 

He finally went home around 3 AM, body still thrumming with nervous energy. Thurgood came up to him as he climbed through the window. The kitten twined around his ankles. Matt reached down to pet him. “Hi,” he said to Thurgood as the cat attempted to climb up his leg. “Could you maybe not put your claws in my suit?” The kitten put all four paws down on the floor, and Matt picked him up. 

Matt went in to shower, putting on a soft t-shirt and sweatpants. He went into the kitchen to make food for Thurgood. While he was in the kitchen, he realized that he was hungry too, so he heated up food for himself. After he was done eating, he went over to the couch to feed the cat. 

The kitten bounded over to him, curling up in his lap. After Matt was done feeding Thurgood, the kitten climbed onto his shoulder and shoved himself into the space between Matt’s shoulder and his neck. He rested like that, with the cat on the shoulder, until he started to feel himself falling asleep. 

Matt took the kitten off of his shoulder, and went in to bed. His body was thoroughly exhausted --- he'd been running exclusively off of catnaps for days now --- but he couldn't shut down his mind. His thoughts seemed to chase each other in circles. 

He tried to let himself sink to meditation, but he couldn't force his mind into the calm blankness he needed. He was still running on the nervous energy from earlier. 

Frustrated, he shifted, trying to find a comfortable enough position for sleep. The night sounds of the city --- engines firing in a few cars, the footfalls of even fewer pedestrians, and his neighbor watching Jeopardy several floors below him --- were usually soothing. Tonight, though, they grated on his nerves like sandpaper against his skin. 

He heard the fall of tiny paws against the bedroom floor. Thurgood was out of his nest. The kitten let out a tiny mew, and waited to be let up onto the bed. 

“No.” Matt told the cat. The couch, the bathroom, even most of his room was fine for Thurgood to occupy. But two places in the house were non-negotiably off limits: the kitchen counter and his bed. The cat might be clean, but he was not going to be one of those people that let their animals sleep with them. 

“Mew.” The cat sat at the edge of the bed, still waiting to be allowed up. “Mew. Mew. Mew---” 

“Alright, fine.” Matt scooped up the cat, allowing it to explore the edge of the bed. This was a bad idea. What if he rolled over onto him? Wasn't that why people weren't supposed to let young kids sleep in the bed with them? 

The cat made its way over to him, and laid in the middle of his breastbone. A quiet purr rumbled in its chest. Well, now he wouldn't have to worry about rolling over onto the cat, at least. 

Matt focused his hearing on the kitten’s heartbeat and rumbling purr. This close, he could make it so that the kitten’s noises drowned out everything else. His mind finally slipped into blankness. Matt’s final thought before falling asleep was that he may have allowed the cat on the bed, but he still wasn't budging on the kitchen counter. 

***

At seven the next morning, Matt was awoken by the alarm. He reached over and turned it off, thinking that he might as well reset it as long as he was out of a job. Then, he had a brief moment of panic as he realized Thurgood was no longer sitting on his chest. 

He listened carefully, then relaxed as he realized that the kitten was lying up on the pillow by his head. Thurgood was awake, but just barely. His heartbeat was still slow and contented. Reassured, Matt rolled over and went back to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was about 9:00. Thurgood was kneading his face, trying to get his attention. 

"Stop," he told the kitten firmly, getting out of bed. He put on jeans and a t shirt --- presentable enough that he could go out if he wanted to --- and went to go make breakfast for the kitten. 

Thurgood was slowly starting to eat solid food, which was nice. He didn't have to worry about messing it up in a way that could harm the kitten, as there was little to no preparation involved. 

After the kitten was fed, Matt got out his glasses and cane and went to go get coffee. He walked down to the coffeeshop on the corner, cane tapping in front of him. It was a nice coffeeshop, good quality but not too terribly hipstery. They knew what he meant when he ordered a medium black coffee, at least. 

The fragrant, bitter smell of coffee wafted out onto the street. It flooded Matt's senses as he walked in the door. As a result, he didn't notice the familiar heartbeat near the counter. 

It was Foggy. They hadn't really spoken at all since the dissolution of Nelson and Murdock. He smelled like new hair gel, department store suit, and real leather shoes. Matt hated it. 

Once Matt had ordered, the barista asked him to go stand behind Foggy. Of course, because the universe had it in for him today. Matt figured that Foggy really didn't want to speak to him after everything that had happened. Still, it would be awkward if Foggy just ignored him, so he'd probably initiate a conversation, right? 

"Hi, Matt." Matt may have been expecting Foggy to speak to him, but he still didn't know what to say. Okay. If Foggy was going to handle this like a mature adult, he could, too. 

"Hi. How- How are you?" It sounded too stiff, and his voice had broken off in the middle. But still, it was something. 

"Good, I guess. I'm on a coffee break from work." Foggy's heart rate was still somewhat elevated --- if anything, he was enjoying this interaction even less than Matt. 

"Yeah," Matt agreed automatically, even though he didn't have work, and, therefore, could not actually be on a coffee break. 

Thankfully, Foggy didn't seem to be in the mood to ask follow up questions. When the barista called his name, he went up, got the coffees, and said goodbye to Matt. 

"Bye," Matt said, as Foggy walked out the door. As the barista hands Matt his coffee, he tried hard to suppress the memory of the last time Foggy had walked away from him.

***  
When he got home, Matt went and sat on the couch with his coffee. He put it on the table in front of him, still processing what had just happened at the coffeeshop. 

This Matt reflected, was the reason he preferred not to leave the house during daylight hours. Seeing Foggy was awkward and painful, and it made something ache in his chest. 

They weren't friends anymore. Hadn't been for --- longer than the four months since the firm broke up. Matt wasn't sure why it still hurt to see Foggy, to be treated like a casual acquaintance rather than a best friend. It wasn't like he'd never been alone before. All through elementary school, middle school, high school, he'd never had a close friend. Being shy and bookish -- and, later, blind and orphaned -- tended to do that. He'd likely have gone through the rest of his life the same way if he'd never met Foggy, so it really shouldn't be that big of a deal. 

Matt tended to sabotage his own relationships, to make people leave him. That's what he had done with Foggy. Let him down over and over again. Prioritized the other side of his life until there was nothing left of their friendship. 

Despite the knowledge that it was his fault, Matt still felt lonely pretty much all the time. Foggy wouldn't take his calls, and he knew better than to try to call Karen. That left Claire and Father Lantom. However, he felt guilty for making them deal with his issues. 

A quiet mew pulled Matt back to reality. Thurgood sat at the edge of the couch, waiting to be picked up. Matt scooped the cat onto the couch. Thurgood tried to climb up Matt's shirt, so he picked the kitten up and held him to his chest. That was the cat's favorite position, likely due to Matt's heartbeat, if Matt had to guess. 

After a few minutes, Matt put the kitten down into his lap, and continued to stroke him. He noticed there were tear tracks on his face. He hadn't realized he'd been crying. Matt reached for his coffee, which was still somewhat warm. Not much time had passed, then.

Matt sat for a while and sipped his coffee, petting the cat. He still had hours to go before he could go out. But, in the meantime, he could do something productive --- clean the apartment, or cook something, or look for jobs online. He sat with the cat until he finished his coffee, and then got up to re-start his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, visit me on Tumblr at: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/floral-murdocks


	3. Chapter 3

Daredevil stood on the roof of an abandoned warehouse, where a woman was holding an uneasy conversation with a known criminal. 

"Look, I just want a lead. I just want to know. . ." The woman sounded confident, and her heartbeat was steady. Was she working with the man? Or was she just a very brave victim? 

He wasn't about to wait around to find out. Daredevil burst through the window, glass shattering. He leapt for the criminal, expecting the woman to run. Instead, she held her ground. He paused for a moment as he realized who it was --- Karen. She used a different shampoo now, and her voice held a rougher, more world-weary tone. But it was definitely her. 

She took advantage of his momentary pause to mace him. 

The suit protected him from most of it, but the spray still burned like fire on the exposed part of his face. Matt gasped for breath. He hadn't swallowed any of it, thankfully, but it hurt. The criminal ran, leaving Matt unable to follow after him, still struggling. Some of the spray had definitely gotten in his nose and throat. 

Once the man was safely out of earshot, Karen came over to him. "What the hell, Matt!?" 

"S-sorry," He choked out. Karen had every right to be pissed. She hadn't voluntarily spoken to him since he'd told her about his identity, and here he came trying to save her from apparently-nonexistent danger. 

She softened a bit. "Can you get home?" 

He tried to tell her that he'd be okay, but it came out as a hacking cough. He couldn't get up. He couldn't smell anything besides the mace. He couldn't feel where anything was --- he navigational sense was well and truly overwhelmed. 

"Okay. I'm going to try to fix this somewhat, and I'm going to try to help you get home." She pulled a water bottle out of her purse, and handed it to him. He poured some of it over his face, and drank a few sips. That was a mistake. Instead of alleviating the burning, it made it infinitely worse.

 

Finally, Matt managed to block out the worst of the pain. He pulled himself up off the ground, still coughing slightly. Karen gave him her arm. 

"Okay, come on." Karen sounded resigned. Matt followed her silently, unsure of what he could say that wouldn't make her angry. 

They drove in silence. Matt recovered somewhat as they approached his apartment. Karen dropped him off behind some buildings a couple blocks away, and he managed to make it to the building and onto his fire escape. 

 

***

The next day, Matt woke up to his phone ringing."Karen. Karen. Karen." He rolled over carefully, mindful of his own injuries and the kitten laying next to him. 

"Hello?" 

"Matt, can we talk?" Karen sounded harried. She obviously wasn't in the mood to deal with his shit, and he didn't feel like disappointing her again. 

"Sure." 

"Ok. Do you want me to just come over later, around 1 or 2?” 

"Yeah, that's fine."

***  
At 1, he was dressed and sitting in the living room with the cat. Thurgood was growing rapidly, getting more adventurous and energetic. He still liked to be wherever Matt was, though, and he was oddly affectionate for a cat. Matt was beginning to think that it was more a feature of the cat's personality than a function of his being a kitten. 

When Karen came to the door, he called for her to come in. Thurgood ran away as she entered, and went to go hide under Matt's bed. 

"Oh my God, your face. . ." she walked over to the couch, and sat down at the opposite end. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Do you want coffee or tea or anything?" He knew the skin on the bottom half of his face was rough and blistery, and his voice was coming out as a raspy whisper. It still hurt, but it definitely looked worse than it was. 

"Coffee, please." Matt got up to go make Karen's coffee. He measured out the grounds into the filter, and put it in the coffeemaker. As the grounds percolated through the machine, he decided to make himself tea. He heated up some water, and put an herbal teabag in the mug. 

He brought it back to the couch, and handed the coffee to Karen. 

"Thanks. No coffee for you?" She shifted on the couch, moving slightly farther towards the far end. It was a subconscious action, he hoped. 

"No." He debated for a minute on how much to tell Karen. Then he realized that if he lied to her again --- and she would know, she always knew, even when she had no idea what the truth was --- she would be angry, and might walk out again. So he told her the truth. "I stopped drinking caffeine because I can't sleep." 

"That makes sense." They lapsed into awkward silence. 

Finally, Karen took a breath, as if she was about to say something important. "We need to talk." 

"Okay." Matt drew his legs up to his chest.

"I'm not yours to save." 

Matt opened his mouth to protest, but Karen stopped him. "I know I told you this before, but I mean it. I was working on a story, and now I lost that lead." 

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you." 

"What do you mean?" Karen sounded incredulous. 

"I couldn't tell that it was you in there at first." If he had, he would have taken an extra moment to fully assess whether or not she was in danger before coming to her aid. Karen could defend herself, to some degree. 

"Okay. That makes it a little better. But could you please check to make sure that the person you're saving is actually in danger next time please?" 

"Yeah. I will." They almost lapsed into silence again, but Thurgood thankfully chose that moment to come out of the bedroom, meowing for Matt's attention. He had something held in his teeth, Matt couldn't quite tell what it was. 

"Is that a cat?" Karen set down her coffee and stretched her arms out towards Thurgood. He came to her, and purred as she pet him. 

"Yeah, that's Thurgood. I found him abandoned when I was out at night. What's that in his mouth?" 

"I think it's a sock." The cat jerked away as Karen tried to take the sock from him. 

"Can I see him?" Karen handed Thurgood over gently, and Matt managed to pry the sock out of his mouth. 

The cat curled up next to Matt, purring softly.Karen shifted towards the cat, and began petting it. “If you ever need help with the cat, you can call me.”

 

“Oh, um --- ok, thanks,” Matt stuttered, taken aback. 

 

Karen’s phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket and looked at it, presumably checking a text. “I have to get back to work. Bye, Matt.” 

 

“Goodbye,” Matt replied. With that, Karen left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, visit me on tumblr at http://floral-murdocks.tumblr.com.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Visit me on tumblr at Floral-Murdocks.tumblr.com. Art for this story by Cursinginenochian.tumblr.com


End file.
